Officer stabbed in throat, one dead after police shooting in Winnipeg’s west end

A quiet shopping plaza became the scene of a violent encounter Sunday between Winnipeg police and a man armed with a knife, resulting in the man’s death.

A senior member of the Winnipeg Police Service is in hospital Monday after being stabbed in the throat, prior to the suspect being fatally shot.

“This transmission is one we never ever want to receive: officer stabbed in the throat, suspect is down,” said WPS Acting police Chief Art Stannard.

Police say the officers involved were in the area as part of their retail theft initiative.

“Our members do not come to work to take a life. They come to work to serve and protect the community,” added Stannard.

Video posted on social media shows two officers with guns drawn standing outside a bus shelter in the Unicity Shopping Centre parking lot. They can be heard yelling “drop it” as the man walks toward them. Seconds later, bullets begin to fly.

“We are aware of videos online and we caution the public that they do not show the entire incident,” said Stannard.

Stannard expressed concern Sunday that the videos online only show part of the interaction, which has left many calling on the WPS to adopt body cameras.

But University of Brandon sociology professor Christopher Schneider argues body cams could provide more questions for the public than answers.

“The sharing of body cam footage to the public across Canada is largely restricted due to strict privacy regulations that are federal,” Schneider told CityNews.

Manitoba’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU), has taken over the investigation.

While body cameras would give a clearer picture for investigators regarding events such as Sunday’s, Schneider says the correlation between body cam footage and public confidence are far from clear cut.

“The IIU may absolve the police of all wrongdoing, that is, finding their use of force justified in this circumstance. They’ll never share the body cam footage, but the bystander footage would remain online. So, what that does to restoring public confidence, I’m not entirely sure,” said Schneider.